Apologetics 315 Podcast

Historian Dr. John Dickson joins the show to discuss his book, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History. Dickson provides an insightful, nuanced perspective on some of the most controversial episodes in Christian history, from the Crusades to the Galileo affair. He argues that while Christians have certainly made grave mistakes throughout history, the influence...

In this episode, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Alisa Childers about the topic of deconstruction, and unpack ideas discussed in her newest book: The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond co-authored with Tim Barnett. https://a315.co/3SmCWvp The podcast focuses on the faith deconstruction movement that is becoming more popular, especially a...

This special end-of-year episode features hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross reflecting on 14 years of podcasting. They announce some changes coming in 2023, including less frequent but more focused episodes centered on topics they are passionate about. They also share lessons learned over 300+ episodes, like the importance of understanding multiple perspectives, asking good questions, and clearly e...

In this episode, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Michael Jones of the Inspiring Philosophy YouTube channel. They discuss the problem of divine hiddenness - the idea that if God existed, he would make his existence clearly evident to everyone, yet there are many non-resistant nonbelievers who earnestly seek God but do not find convincing evidence of his existence. This is seen as evidenc...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Tyson James, the global director of Reasonable Faith Chapters. This episode of the Apologetics 315 podcast featured an interview with Tyson James, the global director of Reasonable Faith chapters . Tyson shared about his journey to Christianity and how studying apologetics strengthened his faith. He explained that Reasonable Faith chapters are...

In this episode of the Apologetics 315 podcast, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview renowned apologist Greg Koukl. Koukl is the founder of Stand to Reason, an organization that equips Christians to defend their faith and engage in meaningful conversations. The discussion centers around using questions to have better conversations about Christianity, drawing from Koukl's books Tactics and hi...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview J. Steve Miller on the topic of deathbed experiences and near death experiences. 0:24 - Intro to Steve Miller and his books 4:50 - Welcome to Steve Miller 5:00 - How did he get into this area of research? 7:42 - What’s the difference between deathbed experiences and near-death experiences? 12:40 - Examples of these experiences 16:16 - The cumul...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross speak with Professor Nancy Pearcey about her book The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes - https://a315.co/468rzNF 0:24 - Intro banter on hobbit food 2:15 - Intro to Nancy Pearcey and her book The Toxic War Against Masculinity 6:16 - Welcome to Nancy 6:46 - Nancy’s background and why she wrote the book 9:14 - Francis Schaeffe...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross speak with Justin Brierley ( www.justinbrierley.com ) about his book The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again - https://a315.co/3PBmXZ7 0:24 - Brian and Chad discuss the book 5:27 - Intro to Justin, welcome back! 7:15 - How did the new atheism actually help Christianity? 9:1...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Corey Miller and Ross Anderson , two former Mormons, on their book Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message: Confident Conversations with Mormon Missionaries (and Other Latter-day Saints) - https://a315.co/3PYWohY Check out the website www.mormonmissionarymessage.com for more! About our guests: https://a315.co/45c79Su 0:24 - Intro to the boo...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Christian Philosopher Peter S. Williams about his book An Informed Cosmos: Essays on Intelligent Design Theory . Find his resources at www.peterswilliams.com 0:24 - Intro to our guest 2:15 - About the book An Informed Cosmos 9:25 - Getting clarity on what intelligent design is 14:10 - Is I.D. science? And defining “science” 19:39 - Truth as the...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Lydia McGrew about her book Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels . 0:24 - Intro to Lydia McGrew 1:51 - Welcome Lydia, and intro to the book 3:43 - How does a philosopher approach the Gospels? 6:39 - Is an “outside perspective” welcomed? 9:28 - Old and new approaches to the Gospels 12:03 - Current approach of scholars to the N...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Christian philosophy Paul K. Moser . They discuss the themes in Moser’s book The Severity of God: Religion and Philosophy Reconceived - https://a315.co/3sOD6mx 0:24 - Intro to Paul Moser 3:33 - Welcome to Paul Moser 4:00 - What do you mean by “God’s severity”? 9:06 - We’ve lost the message of suffering and hardship 11:25 - The moral perfection...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Chris Date on the topic of Eschatology, or the End Times. They explore the ins and outs of various views of the end times, before discussing more deeply the view that Chris holds on the subject. A very helpful and informative conversation! www.chrisdate.info 0:24 - Intro to Chris Date 2:43 - An update on Chris and his wife’s treatment 5:07 - Wh...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Holly Ordway about her new book, Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography. A wonderful book and a fascinating interview that will be a real treat for Tolkien fans. www.hollyordway.com 0:24 - Intro to Holly Ordway 4:45 - Welcoming Holly 5:35 - The 50th Anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s death, Sept 2023 6:45 - The goal in writing a spiritual biograph...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Richard P. Moore. They talk about the New Apostolic Reformation and its theological problems. 0:23 - Intro to Richard Moore 3:50 - Why is Richard in Germany, and why write this book? 8:02 - What has been the influence of the NAR in Germany? 19:42 - What differentiates NAR from traditional pentecostal/charismatic? 25:42 - Why do those within NAR...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Chris Reese on the topic of gender ideology, transgenderism, and approaching challenges cultural issues. Based on Chris Reese’s helpful article at Summit.org, found here: https://a315.co/gender-ideology Christopher L. Reese is the editor-in-chief of The Worldview Bulletin and cofounder of the Christian Apologetics Alliance . He is a general edi...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Dr. Peter Gurry , co-author of the book Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible . 0:27 - Intro to Peter Gurry 3:07 - Welcome to Peter Gurry 3:27 - Peter’s background and focus 5:22 - What got Peter interested in studying the origin of the scriptures? 7:56 - Did your study make you more or less confident in the scripture...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross discuss a variety of topics. 1:46 - Chad makes English Tea 3:20 - Where have we been? 4:20 - Mailbag question: Apologetics songs? 15:45 - What have we been reading? 16:11 - The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges 18:13 - The Knight & Rose Show 18:27 - Common Sense Economics 19:09 - When the Church Was Young 19:54 - Not so keen on C.S. Lewis? 23:39 -...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Chris Date on the subject of the deity of Christ. They also discuss the debate Chris had on the topic with Dale Tuggy, and explore further. 4:30 - Welcome to Chris Date 5:20 - A health update on Chris’s wife 7:00 - Chris’s future education plans 10:04 - How did the Dale Tuggy debate come about? 13:02 - How to prepare for a debate 19:17 - What d...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross talk to Andy Bannister about his forthcoming book: How to Talk about Jesus Without Looking Like an Idiot: A Panic-Free Guide to Having Natural Conversations about Your Faith . An episode filled with some great insights, encouragement and tools for sharing your faith with others. 0:25 - Intro 3:24 - Welcome to Andy 5:27 - Where is Andy located in UK? 7:45...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross select a classic interview from the archive: an interview with Gary Habermas on the topics of doubt, the resurrection, and near death experiences. Interviews Mentioned: • Michael Ward - https://a315.co/3MNx3Xh • Nabeel Qureshi - https://a315.co/3GNqCQb • Norman Geisler - https://a315.co/41x6jOF • Scott Klusendorf - https://a315.co/4083hPW • Paul L. Maier...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Holly Ordway about the themes and ideas in her book Apologetics and the Christian Imagination: An Integrated Approach to Defending the Faith . 0:22 - About Holly Ordway, and our thoughts on her book 4:02 - Welcome to Holly, and the role of imagination in her conversion 9:01 - What is “imagination” and what role does it play in apologetics? 12:1...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross discuss Jesus the master thinker: how Jesus reasoned, persuaded, argued, and valued reason and evidence. Debate mentioned: Is Christianity Dangerous? with Michael Jones and Aron Ra Books mentioned : The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters by Norman Geisler and Patrick Zukeran Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically an...

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross talk about the recent Defenders Conference in Wisconsin, then Jacob Varghese from SAFT Apologetics joins us to give an update on the ministry. SUPPORT SAFT BELOW!! https://blog.saftapologetics.com —> https://www.patreon.com/saftapologetics <— info@saftapologetics.com jacob@saftapologetics.com ================================ We appreciate your feed...